Case of the Month: Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (US Supreme Court,
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The story: Six years ago, when T.A. was a junior and recently diagnosed with ADHD, his parents placed him in a private residential therapeutic boarding school. After his enrollment there, his parents sought funding for the placement through the school district. T.A. had been evaluated for special education during his freshman year and the team, including the parent, concurred he was not eligible. After the unilateral placement and a new evaluation by the district, the team met again but did not reach consensus - the district concluded that he was not eligible because the student's ADHD did not have a significant adverse impact on his educational performance. The parents prevailed at a due process hearing, and the district prevailed on appeal in District Court. The Ninth Circuit sent the case back to the District Court to reconsider theequities (essentially, fairness), rejecting the argument that the IDEA barred the parents from reimbursement because T.A. had not previously received special education from the district. The US Supreme Court agreed with the Ninth Circuit. The District Court should issue a ruling on the matter in the next few months.
Lessons learned: This case is big because we are always eager to hear what the Supreme Court says about the IDEA. But the case is small because it only addresses one small part of the question. The Supreme Court did not answer the big question - whether the circumstances justified district reimbursement for the parent's unilateral private placement. That decision, to be made by the District Court on remand, will turn on the parent's conduct and the district's conduct leading up to the placement (and, possibly, after). Did the parents give the district ample notice of their intended placement? Did the district have an opportunity to address the student's needs before removal by the parents? Was the reason for the out-of-home placement truly educational? Did the District unduly delay responding to the student's educational needs?
Forest Grove, like every other "child find" case, is timely to think about at the beginning of the school year. Do your general education teachers, particularly at the high school level, know what red flags should prompt a referral for special education consideration? Do the counselors know? Is this on your back-to-school agenda?
- For a discussion on determining adverse impact, see the June 2009 case of the month.
- Read what another parent has to say about special education in the
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